How To Make Money, Build An Audience and Generate Buzz With Social Media

Over the weekend, I received an unexpected email from social networking expert Shama Hyder.  If you haven’t heard of Shama, I’ve featured her a couple times in this blog…both through a video interview here and as an example of how to properly use transparency in video here.

Anyway, attached to her email, Shama included a copy of her new book, The Zen of Social Media Marketing, for my review.

And I was actually excited to read it (a rare thing for me).  Why?  Because like I said, Shama is an expert at social media marketing.  She took her business from zero to six figures…in a year…using nothing but social media.  Since then, her business has continually grown to the point where she has to routinely turn away new clients…all while becoming one of the most sought-after speakers in the field.

Or to put it another way, when it comes to social media marketing, the girl knows what she’s talking about.

So about the book.  The book itself is 104 pages.  No fluff, no filler…just pure content.  If you do a lot of reading like I do, you’ll appreciate this (as most books these days have 50 pages of decent content and 250 pages of blather).

But it’s what Shama shares in the book…and maybe more so how she relays it…that impressed me most.

You see, when it comes to social media marketing, most people immediately start off with the wrong mindset.  They think they can open a FaceBook or Twitter account…the heavens will open…and they’ll immediately get a flood of new business.

Unfortunately, that’s not the way things work.  In fact, that’s not how new media is designed to work.  It’s a social tool…not a marketing tool.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t make money with it.  It just means you need to take off your “marketing goggles” and put on your “new media goggles”.

This is something that is completely foreign to most people, but thankfully Shama does an excellent job of explaining this concept through an acronym she calls ACT.  It’s basically a three-point blueprint on how you should be thinking…and what you should be doing…through each step of the social networking process.

Personally, I think this concept…and how she explains it…is the most valuable part of the book.  Why?  Because it’s the #1 thing I see people continually getting wrong when using new media.  Or let me put it to you another way; if you don’t know the difference between a consumer and a customer, then you’re likely using new media wrong.

But what if you haven’t even started using things like Twitter, Facebook or blogs yet? Well, no worries there.  That’s because Shama also shares all the nuts and bolts on how to properly setup and use these social networking services.

And you’ll notice I put the word properly in bold.  That’s because using these services properly is one of the big secrets to Shama’s success.  And to make sure that you don’t make the same mistakes that so many others do, Shama clearly details every wrong and right method of using social media from start to finish.

I could go on for several more pages…but…I like to keep things concise and to the point.

And the bottom line is this. If you know nothing about social networking but want to get started…if you know you should be using social networking but haven’t started…or if you are using social networking but aren’t getting anywhere near the results you hoped for…then The Zen of Social Media Marketing is a must-read.

Frankly, it’s the closest thing to a real-world, “social networking bible” that I’ve come across.

Shama has made The Zen of Social Media Marketing available as a PDF file from her web site.  That means you can immediately access it without waiting for anything to arrive in the mail.  That also means if you’re a Kindle 2 owner (like me), you can load it up on your Kindle.  Here’s an example of what Shama’s book cover looks like in standard PDF format and on a Kindle:

So how much?  Well, you can pick-up The Zen of Social Media Marketing for just $27.  Basically, at that price it’s a no-brainer.

And just a few minutes from now, both you and your business can start benefiting from it.  To get your copy, all you have to do is click here.

Disclosure – I’m a compensated affiliate.  I gave you my honest review and opinion on this product.  But I am also an affiliate of this product.  That means if you order the product using the link I supply,I will be paid a commission on the sale.